Main navigation

Interposers

Organic interposers are resurfacing as an option in advanced packaging, several years after they were first proposed as a means of reducing costs in 2.5D multi-die configurations. There are several reasons why there is a renewed interest in this technology: More companies are pushing up against the limits of Moore’s Law, where the cost of continuing to shrinking features is exorbitant. Enough work has been done with organic interposers on the manufacturing side to deal with some of the main issues, such as warpage and difficulty in attaching other die to that interposer due to its flexibility. There has been progress made to increase the density of organic interposers so they are closing in on silicon interposers. Until now, most of the implementations of 2.5D have been for high-speed networking and server applications because the cost of a silicon interposer is so high. That price tag averages about $30, according to industry sources, but it can be as high as $100 when … [Read more...] about Return Of The Organic Interposer

The number of technology options continue to grow for advanced packaging, including new and different ways to incorporate so-called silicon bridges in products. For some time, Intel has offered a silicon bridge technology called Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB), which makes use of a tiny piece of silicon with routing layers that connects one chip to another in an IC package. In addition, Amkor, Imec and Samsung are separately developing silicon bridge technologies for packaging. Each technology is slightly different, but the idea is similar. Silicon bridges serve as an in-package interconnect for multi-die packages. They also are positioned as an alternative to 2.5D packages using silicon interposers. Like 2.5D, silicon bridges provide more I/Os in packages, which can address the memory bandwidth bottleneck challenges in systems. In 2.5D, dies are stacked or placed side-by-side on top of an interposer, which incorporates through-silicon vias (TSVs). The interposer acts as … [Read more...] about Bridges Vs. Interposers

Can you imagine a 512GB memory stick? Intel's Apache Pass DIMMs make that a reality in Lenovo's new ThinkSystem SD650 servers, which are the first servers to support the new devices. These new DIMMs will feature 3D XPoint memory addressed as normal system memory in a RAM slot, but they aren't on the market yet. The new DIMMs require specialized accommodations, but Lenovo said the SD650 will support them when the Cascade Lake Xeons, which will be drop-in compatible with the server, come to market next year. RAM is one of the most important components in a system, be it a desktop PC or a server, but the relationship between capacity and cost has long been a serious drawback. For instance, the densest memory sticks come with hefty price premiums. The largest single DDR4 stick you can buy is 128GB and carries an eye-watering $4,000 price tag. You can reach the same level of capacity for much less money if you spread it across multiple DIMMs, so that type of density isn't attractive from … [Read more...] about Lenovo Dishes On 3D XPoint DIMMS, Apache Pass In ThinkSystem SD650

For more than 30 years, Intel has made a name with its CPUs, which rule the PC and server markets. Chip advances have helped Intel make devices smaller, faster, and more power-efficient.Computing is now spreading into cars, robots, drones, smart devices, and a wide range of other electronics. Chip requirements have changed with new hardware and applications like artificial intelligence and graphics.Intel is preparing for the future and making big changes in the way it designs chips. It is realizing that CPUs aren't a big enough business model and has acquired a wide variety of chips to put into devices. The company is even researching quantum computers and neuromorphic chips.Intel intends to team up its CPUs with Altera FPGAs in cars and Movidius computer vision chips in drones. It will also use its Nervana deep-learning chips in servers and other devices. Intel will make chips for different types of computers but also offer faster throughput inside its chips with its new design … [Read more...] about As computing evolves, Intel takes a new approach to chip design

Apple is chasing Samsung across the globe with 12 lawsuits in 9 different countries, but on its home turf in California it is apparently getting some favorable treatment, as it just managed to schedule its lawsuit hearing for July 2012.While this might not seem as much of a fast-tracking at first glance, bear in mind that the court's median scheduling time is 23 months, what Samsung was asking for, and Apple managed to reverse it to 15.5 months after the initial claim. Apple was asking for an even earlier date, February 2012, so the judges arrived at the wise decision to set July 30, 2012 as the date for the trial.Samsung can also ask for an expedited hearing of its own counter-claims against Apple in the California court, although Apple is accusing it to have "artificially inflated the scope of this case by interposing 12 more utility patents". The lawyers have probably already renovated their second house in The Hamptons, and are now looking at bigger boats. … [Read more...] about Apple manages to fast-track its California lawsuit against Samsung for July 2012